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The
Cotswold Farm Park is part of the 650 hectare Bemborough
Farm, a typical mixed farm high on the Cotswold
Hills. Now farmed by Adam Henson (son of Joe Henson,
who founded the Cotswold Farm Park), and his partner
and college friend, Duncan Andrews.
The animals you see on display represent examples of each of the breeding flocks and herds kept on Bemborough Farm, including:
Cattle – Belted Galloway, Gloucester, Highland, Oxen, White Park.
Sheep – Castlemilk Moorit, Cotswold, Hebridean, Herdwick, Kerry Hill, North Ronaldsay, Shetland, Soay, Manx Loghtan, Norfolk Horn and Portland.
Pigs – Gloucestershire Old Spot, Iron Age, Kune Kune and Tamworth.
Goats – Angora, Bagot and Golden Guernsey.
Horses & Ponies – Donkeys, Exmoor, Shetland and Shire.
As well as various breeds of poultry and waterfowl.
Many animals bred at the Cotswold Farm Park have gone on to found other flocks and herds and the `Bemborough’ name is well recognised and respected in the sphere of British Rare Farm animals
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In
the Middle Ages the rural population kept versatile
animals that fulfilled several roles but did none
of them particularly well. However, since humans
first began to use and domesticate wild animals,
they have been changing those animals to suit
their needs. Today we demand high production from
agriculture, using highly efficient, but single
purpose livestock breeds. Our old multi-purpose
breeds have been reduced to pitifully low numbers
and some have been lost forever.
If
all farmers at all times and in all places were
searching for the identical requirements, then
the ideal animals would probably have been created
centuries ago, and we would be content with one
breed of each species. However this is not the
case, as different communities have different
requirements of their animals, which also have
to suit geographical and climatic conditions.
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There
are three main reasons why we should preserve
types or strains of domestic animals that are
not needed by modern agriculture.
As
a
living museum
to enable people interested in our living heritage
to come and see the types of animals our ancestors
farmed. For research
purposes,
to study in detail the characteristics of these
old fashioned breeds. Most importantly
for the future.
Our farming needs are constantly changing and
if livestock breeders are to mould their animals
to fit these changing needs, it is vital they
have a pool of genetic material to fall back on.
Once a breed is gone, it's gone forever, and who
is to say that in the future we will never need
the characteristics of today's rare breeds.
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In
1973 Joe Henson became founder Chairman of a national
charity established to ensure the continued survival
of all endangered rare breeds of British Farm Livestock.
The Rare Breeds Survival Trust (RBST) is now a thriving
organisation with over 10,000 members and has His
Royal Highness the Prince of Wales as patron. |
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